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NO FAKES Act: Lyor Cohen & Harvey Mason Jr. on Guarding AI Voice Replicas

Lyor Cohen and Harvey Mason Jr. advocate for the NO FAKES Act, a bipartisan bill creating an intellectual property right for individuals to control digital replicas of their voice and likeness. The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote

Variety Music·Jun 18, 2026·via Variety Music

NO FAKES Act: Lyor Cohen & Harvey Mason Jr. on Guarding AI Voice Replicas

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Jun 18, 2026 5:00am PT

AI Needs Guardrails — the NO FAKES Act Can Create Them: Guest Post by Lyor Cohen and Harvey Mason Jr.

By Jem Aswad

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Jem Aswad

Executive Editor, Music

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The “NO FAKES” Act of 2026 (“Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe”) would establish an intellectual property right by which individuals could authorize or block digital replicas of their voice and likeness. The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on whether to advance the bill today — June 18, 2026.

In the guest post below, Lyor Cohen , YouTube’s global head of music (and formerly a top executive at Warner Music, Def Jam Records and Rush Management), and Harvey Mason Jr. , CEO of the Recording Academy (and a veteran musician, songwriter and producer), make their case for the bill’s importance. The pair spoke on the subject at a Grammys on the Hill event in April.